Inspiring Finds

I took a couple of days off from holiday decorating and blogging in order to bake some cookies (great recipe from Bake at 350) and hang with my family watching Buddy the Elf and other classic holiday movies. But there is so much goodness in blogland, I wanted to make sure you knew about a few of the inspiring things I’ve found around the web and on the pages of Tumblr!

Last but not least, I did a guest post over at Tip Junkie featuring a few of my recent simple no-stress holiday decorating projects. I’ve had such a great time making things that were easy, affordable and enjoyable! I have another little project still to show you in the coming days, plus my Christmas mantel photos, finally!

(Note: all the winners from the DaySpring giveaway have been contacted via email!)

Hey Melissa, I posted my trailer park tradition today. Much easier and less stress than gingerbread houses. Come over for a visit. I’m all over easy decorating and crafts this year. It’s just WAY too crazy for much more than that. Hugs to you this Christmas!

Thanks for the shout-out! That was nice of you. A day of baking cookies and watching Christmas movies sounds wonderful. It’s supposed to snow all day tomorrow, so maybe we’ll stay home in our pajamas and do just that! :-)

Hello! I am so thankful for the wonderful snowflake tutorial link. I am also a fan of the front porch party and the sweet little table and chairs with the “peace” I think it was. I also found an ornament idea there, too! Thanks for the great links!

While it took me a while to get into the holiday spirit this year (and last), but I did enjoy the links. The snowflake one brought back memories, as did the Wassail link (I make mine with oranges versus pineapple, with cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon, but it’s all good!). I also enjoyed your guest post…I’ve been using a 4′ tree since 1991 and love the ease of putting it up and taking it down.

PS I forgot to mention…stencils are easier than you think, but it’s best to have mylar (clear, stiff acetate from Tap Plastics or your local craft store) and a sharp exacto knife. YouTube has tons of video tutorials.

Basically:
1. Draw your design on paper
2. Mark the areas you’ll cut out
3. Tape it to the Mylar
4. Place on good cutting surface, design side UP
5. Use sharp Exacto Knife to cut out the areas that will be painted
6. Remove paper from mylar, then place mylar on wall, fabric, or other stencil surface and prepare to paint

If you are using multiple colors, you will want to create a separate stencil for each color.

Thanks so much for adding a link to my gift post! Great links to check out here. You are so good to make cookies with your kids. Mine want to so bad, but I’m just super lazy. Think I’ll be buying the dough:-)